50 ways to better your Etobicoke community

Create a fundraising web page for SickKids Foundations. Learn how at www.sickkidsfoundation.com/moreways/fundraisingpage.asp

Give blood at a mobile clinic at the north end of Cloverdale Mall near Zeller’s on Dec. 28 and on Jan. 7 and 8 from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. and in a conference room on the main floor by The Bay at Woodbine Centre on Jan. 4 from 4 to 8 p.m. Appointment preferred; walk-in if available. Call 1-888-2-DONATE to make an appointment.

Support adult literacy by tutoring in basic reading, writing and math at your local library by calling 416-395-5555.

Assist students with their homework at local libraries.

Bring some sunshine by visiting with a senior in long-term care home.

Help end hunger by donating food or funds to Daily Bread Food Bank on New Toronto Street in south Etobicoke to support 170 member agencies. Visit www.dailybread.ca or call 416-203-0050.

Help students with their homework at the After School Newcomer Hub.

Make a difference in the lives of women and children by donating to Women’s Habitat shelter at www.womens-habitat.ca, Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter at www.ernestines.ca or help youth at Youth Without Shelter at yws.on.ca

Volunteer at Trillium Health Partners’ Etobicoke hospital (former site of Queensway General) at www.trilliumhealthpartners.ca or at Etobicoke General Hospital at www.williamoslerhc.on.ca

Help seniors in Etobicoke by becoming an adult day volunteer or escorted transportation volunteer with Etobicoke Services for Seniors. Call 416-243-0127 ext. 241 or visit www.esssupportservices.ca

Volunteer to assist seniors to live independently in their homes by volunteering with CANES for special events, becoming a friendly visitor to a senior, work in the office or assist with seniors’ lunches. Call 416-743-3892 or email canes@canes.on.ca for more.

Financially support the international disaster relief work of Etobicoke-based charity GlobalMedic, which provides clean drinking water through the shipment of water purification sachets, tablets and system. Visit www.globalmedic.ca to donate.

Lend your talents to the 23rd annual Etobicoke-Lakeshore Christmas Parade in the new year, a two-decade-long tradition in the Lake Shore. Help maintain floats, seeks sponsors, carry a banner or dress in costume on the big day. Email lana.pimentel@rogers.com to volunteer.

Take important, potentially life-saving calls from kids by volunteering at Kids Help Phone. Visit www.kidshelpphone.ca

Love animals? Volunteer to answer phones, do filing and general reception duties on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the Etobicoke Humane Society. Visit www.etobicokehumanesociety.com for more.

Support Etobicoke-based Family Association for Mental Health Everywhere (FAME) provide free confidential education, resources and coping strategies free-of-charge to families across the GTA where mental health is an issue. Visit www.fameforfamilies.com to donate.

Help people in south Etobicoke by becoming a volunteer with LAMP Community Health Centre. Visit an information session on the third Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at LAMP on Fifth Street to learn more about volunteer opportunities or visit www.lampchc.org

Help north Etobicoke residents by becoming a volunteer with Rexdale Community Health Centre. Visit www.rexdalechc.com for more.

Join the Toronto Polar Bear Club on Jan. 1 at Sunnyside Park and support Habitat for Humanity Toronto. Visit www.torontopolarbear.com for more.

Lend a hand to Habitat for Humanity Toronto at a build site or at a ReStore location. Visit www.torontohabitat.ca/volunteer.html for more.

Fill out an online form at www.salvationarmy.ca/volunteer to connect with the Salvation Army volunteer co-ordinator in your area.

Become a Giant Panda Ambassador at the Toronto Zoo. Email tzvolunteers@torontozoo.ca or call 416-392-5942.

Volunteer with special events in Toronto such as Doors Open Toronto and Canada Day. Email spevvol@toronto.ca for more.

Shop locally. Visit www.toronto-bia.com for a list of business improvement areas near you.

Assist Citizens Concerned About the Etobicoke Waterfront on a one-time, ongoing or event-basis. Email info@ccfew.org

Join Friends of Sam Smith Park, the lakefront park at Kipling Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard West, a community group of local residents and park users dedicated to protecting, enhancing and preserving the naturalized areas of the park. Email friendsofsamsmith@gmail.com

Help re-imagine Depression-era Rotary Peace Park’s old playscape, slide and two swing sets by donating to the community’s revitalization project to raise $250,000 to purchase a new junior and senior play structure, bioswale and naturalized planting area, toboggan hill and wheelchair-accessible walkways. Email rotaryparkrejuvenation@gmail.com to volunteer with or donate to the project.

Contribute to ongoing fundraising to purchase special playground equipment to make Jeff Healey Park on Delroy Drive in The Queensway-Royal York Road area more accessible for children with disabilities. Healey died of cancer in 2008 at age 41. Contact Richard Flohil at rflohil@sympatico.ca

Become a support to a girl or boy by spending a few hours a month to be a volunteer mentor Big Brother or Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto. Call 416-925-8981 for more.

Volunteer for Meals on Wheels. To find out your closest location, check out www.mealcall.org/canada/ontario/toronto.htm

Furnish homes for families in need. The Furniture Bank, 25 Connell Crt. (just south of Horner and Evans avenues) recycles gently used household furnishings from individuals and corporate donors to our client base, which includes women and children, refugees and the homeless. Call 416-934-1229 to donate.

Join a faith group’s congregation.

Volunteer for an Out of the Cold program in or near your community. All Saints’ Kingsway Church has been feeding the most disadvantaged and marginalized people since 1995. Visit www.allsaintskingsway.ca for details.

Join Girl Guides of Canada as an adult member/volunteer to help girls develop a sense of responsibility, learn skills and respect, leadership skills, offer community service and discover the best in themselves. Visit https://guidesontario.org for more.

Support Creative Village Studio, a community-based art studio at 4895 Dundas St. W. operated by Community Living Toronto. Bring some colour into your life by purchasing a piece of art designed by artists of varying abilities. Visit www.neighbourhoodartsnetwork.org. to donate.

Support the Sasha Menu Courey Fund to spread awareness of and hope in the face of Borderline Personality Disorder, increasingly known as Emotional Regulation Disorder. Menu Courey was a national record-holding swimmer and Olympic hopeful on full scholarship at the University of Missouri when she took her own life last year at age 20. Visit www.sashbear.org to donate.

Help send children and youth who live in a shelter back to school next fall with a new backpack full of school supplies. Visit www.backpacks101.org for a list of needed supplies and drop-off locations.

Save households items you’d like to donate for Agnes Potts’ annual garage sale in July in support of Youth Without Shelter. Potts begins accepting donations in the first week of June at her home at 4 Wingrove Hill off Kipling Avenue north of Burnhamthorpe Road.

Donate to fund unique programs at The Gatehouse, a south Etobicoke agency that provides child, youth, and adult survivors of child abuse and their families with crisis support, referrals to community agencies, as well as investigative services for children reporting abuse. Visit www.thegatehouse.org.

Raise your voice in sing by joining My Pop Choir, a community-based choir based out of Islington United Church in central Etobicoke for people who love to sing, but who have no musical training and no experience. Visit www.mypopchoir.com for more information or to register.

Support The Haven, a non-profit charitable organization with a mission to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people in Etobicoke, Mississauga and downtown Toronto who struggle in poverty or in crisis. Visit www.haven.ca to learn more.

Clean up the streets of your neighbourhood or your neighbourhood park.